The Pen (Al-Qalam)
In the name of Allah, Most Gracious, Most Merciful
۞ Nun. CONSIDER the pen, and all that they write [therewith]! 1 You are not demented by the grace of your Lord. 2 And lo! thine verily will be a reward unfailing. 3 And most surely you conform (yourself) to sublime morality. 4 You will see, and they will see, 5 Which of you is the demented. 6 Indeed your Lord well knows those who have strayed from His path, and He well knows those who are upon guidance. 7 Therefore do not listen to the deniers. 8 They wish that you would soften [in your position], so they would soften [toward you]. 9 And obey not everyone who swears much, and is considered worthless, 10 or to any defamer or one who spreads slander, 11 Hinderer of the good, trespasser; sinner. 12 the coarse-grained, and above all mean and ignoble; 13 Because he* has some wealth and sons. (Walid bin Mugaira, who cursed the Holy Prophet.) 14 When Our verses are recited to him, he says, “These are stories of earlier people.” 15 Soon shall We brand (the beast) on the snout! 16 Surely We will try them as We tried the owners of the garden, when they swore that they would certainly cut off the produce in the morning, 17 And they made not the exception. 18 So an envoy from your Lord completed his round upon the garden, whilst they were sleeping. 19 And by morning it lay as if it had already been harvested, a barren land. 20 They then called out to each other at daybreak. 21 Saying: Go early to your tilth if you would cut (the produce). 22 So they went off, while whispering to one another. 23 "Let no beggar come to the garden". 24 And they opened the morning, strong in an (unjust) resolve. 25 Then when they saw it, they said, “We have indeed strayed.” 26 No. In fact we have been deprived of it." 27 The most moderate of them said, "Did I not say to you, 'Why do you not exalt [Allah]?' " 28 They said: Glory be to our Lord, surely we were unjust. 29 Then they turned, one against another, in reproach. 30 They said: woe unto us! verily we! we have been arrogant. 31 It may be that our Lord will give us better than this in place thereof. Lo! we beseech our Lord. 32 Such is the Punishment (in this life); but greater is the Punishment in the Hereafter,- if only they knew! 33